A Month Ago
by CharmedReality
Summary: How much of a person is made up of their memories? And what does that mean when that person had more memories than anyone else? One-sided Murata/Yuuri. One-shot.


**A Month Ago**

Yuuri wasn't sure when he'd come to depend so much on his fellow dark eyed, dark haired friend, but he could tell you exactly when he realized he had. It was the same day he lost him. Well, not _lost_ exactly. He knew where Murata was. He just wasn't entirely Murata anymore.

He still had the hair that would flip out at the back which he claimed happened naturally, but Yuuri was sure there was a reason he took so long getting ready in the mornings. He still wore those large glasses that should have made him look dorky, but somehow just made him look smart, not that he really needed visual evidence of that. And he still had his voice, but it didn't say the same kinds of things anymore.

"Yuuri, hey, I wondered if you wanted to play catch," called out that same familiar voice.

The young king turned toward his friend who wasn't his friend, but was his friend. Yuuri had to resist correcting him. Every time Murata called him "Yuuri," he couldn't help but to frown, but with everything else going on, it didn't seem like something he should correct him on. And it was his name...

"I'm supposed to meet Gwendal, so he can show me what I did wrong with all of yesterday's paperwork." He sighed. "I don't know why he doesn't just do it himself. He's much better at it than me."

"Just tell him you were helping me work on getting my memory back. He'd believe that."

Murata smiled brightly at him. That was another thing that felt strange. It wasn't that Murata had seemed unhappy before, but this Murata was always so relaxed and happy. And Yuuri hadn't seen his glasses to that creepy reflecting thing even once. It was like they had lost their memory too!

"I'm not sure…" he began hesitantly. Normally, he'd jump at the chance to get out of paperwork, but lately…

"Come on, Yuuri! Gisela even said that familiar things might help, and you told me that we were friends and we both liked baseball, so it's even true."

"Well, when you say it like that."

The next thing the unlikely king knew he was on the baseball field tossing the ball to an eager Murata. Admittedly, it was nice to be in that setting. After a month of duties as the king he was starting to wonder what was going on back on Earth. It was hard to remember that his parents and brother won't have even noticed his absence yet. And considering how nosey Shouri could be, it was especially hard to believe of him.

He'd like to visit, but he couldn't do it without Murata and Murata didn't know how, and didn't seem particularly interested in learning. He'd asked to stay in the castle instead of the shrine. Apparently, living with that many women was less appealing when they kept walking around saying, "poor Geika."

Yuuri had overheard Conrad and the others talking one night. They seemed to talk a lot when he wasn't around. Conrad had suggested that Jose might be able to help since he knew the most about how Murata's memories worked. But Jose was on Earth.

"Maybe when we are done you can practice with Ulrike again."

Murata made a face at that. "And maybe you can practice with Gunter," he teased. "Or we could sneak into the laundry room instead."

Yuuri looked very confused at that. His emotions always read strongly on his face. In this case, strong enough to make Murata laugh. "Because that's where the maids will be," he explained to his companion. "I think the one with glasses likes you."

They kept playing until the sun sank toward the ground. Yuuri only noticed Conrad watching from the sidelines a few minutes ago. He'd probably been there for hours. He had a special way of looking concerned while smiling. It was eerie and reassuring at the same time.

A month ago, there had only been concern in those eyes.

Yuuri couldn't remember much about what happened. He'd been in his Maou form in human lands again, and he'd grown weak from his opponent's assaults. He knew Murata was by his side. He always felt stronger with him there. But then there was a flash of light, and he heard Murata yell, "Shibuya!" and then there was blackness and silence.

He woke up a day later. He had been a long time since that had happened to him in that form. Conrad and Wolfram were at his side as they always were, but Murata was missing. He'd looked around the whole room, expecting to see him looking solemn by a window or something. He liked doing that. But there was no sign of him.

Later, Conrad told him that Murata had stepped in front of him when it hit. The guilt sat heavily on the youth's shoulders as his brown haired companion did his best to assuage him of it.

The way Gunter explained what happened next was as an overload. The energy surge was too much of a strain to Murata's already overtaxed mind. He didn't just have the memories of one life but of hundreds. And the only way his mind could save itself, was to turn off those parts, so it could heal. With any luck they would be restored.

Yuuri wasn't feeling particularly lucky these days. So many lives were lost because of him, and all in the form of his best friend.

But there was never a trace of recrimination in Murata's dark eyes. They seemed clearer than he'd ever seen them. And the young king had to wonder if it was only selfishness that wanted to see them go back to the way they had been.

Because a month later he was starting to realize he was the one who liked the one in the glasses and he really wanted him back.


End file.
